---
title: What's the difference between "resetting" and "normalizing" CSS?
subtitle: Which would you choose, and why?
---

| Term | Definition |
| --- | --- |
| **Resetting** | Resetting is meant to strip all default browser styling on elements. For e.g. `margin`s, `padding`s, `font-size`s of all elements are reset to be the same. You will have to redeclare styling for common typographic elements. |
| **Normalizing** | Normalizing preserves useful default styles rather than "unstyling" everything. It also corrects bugs for common browser dependencies. |

## Which to choose and why?

Choose resetting when you need to have a very customized or unconventional site design such that you need to do a lot of your own styling and do not need any default styling to be preserved.
